Bengaluru: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has directed the Karnataka government to release June and July quota of water to neighboring Tamil Nadu.
In a meeting chaired by union water commission RK Jain which was held through a video conference, a direction in this regard was issued. The directive from the CWMA to Karnataka is to release 9.19 TMC of water in June and 31.23 TMC water in July.
However this year there may not be any controversy as the KRS dam has sufficient water and monsoon rain started across Karnataka especially in Mandya.
Cauvery Water Management Scheme, 2018
The Central Government, in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (33 of 1956) had constituted the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal vide notification number S.O. 437(E), dated the 2nd June 1990 to adjudicate upon the water dispute regarding the Inter-State river Cauvery and the river valley thereof among the States of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Union territory of Puducherry;
The Tribunal investigated the matters referred to it and forwarded to the Central Government a report under sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Act on the 5th of February 2007. The party States filed special leave petitions in the Hon’ble Supreme Court against the said report.
Hon’ble Supreme Court converted the said special leave petitions into Civil Appeals. Hon’ble Supreme Court pronounced its judgment and final order in Civil Appeals 2453 of 2007, 2454 of 2007 and 2456 of 2007 on the 16th February 2018 and directed the Central Government to frame a scheme under section 6A of the Act to implement the Tribunal Award as modified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide Order dated the 16th February 2018;
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6A of the said Act, the Central Government notified the Cauvery Water Management Scheme on 01st June 2018, inter alia, constituting the ‘Cauvery Water Management Authority’ and the ‘Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’ to give effect to the decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide its Order, dated 16th February 2018. The CWMA was formed as a quasi-judicial authority by the Centre, with its own powers like an independent body. This was to implement the water-sharing award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. The water sharing was to be carried out as modified by the Supreme Court earlier in 2018. The CWMA comprises of a Chairman, a secretary, and eight members.
CWMA brought under Jal Shakti Ministry
Meanwhile, the Center, by way of a notification, officially brought the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) under the Jal Shakti Ministry. Several political parties, especially those in the Opposition, and some farmers’ associations in Tamil Nadu have expressed concerns over this.
The Jal Shakti Ministry is a union of the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. It was formed at the Union Government level in May 2019, to deal with all water, sanitation and irrigation-related issues. With this, the erstwhile water resources ministry has been brought under Jal Shakti ministry as a department. The management boards of all rivers like Godavari, Krishna, and the Narmada, were functioning under the erstwhile water resources ministry. With a notification on April 24, 2020, the following were brought under the Jal Shakti Ministry: National Water Informatics Centre, North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management, Krishna River Management Board, Godavari River Management Board, Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)
There is strong opposition to this move because while the other inter-state river dispute boards (Narmada, Krishna, Godavari) were directly set up by the ministry, the CWMA was set up with the instructions of the Supreme Court. It is an independent body set up under the orders of the Supreme Court and until the Water Resources Ministry was absorbed into the Jal Shakti Ministry, the CWMA was not a part of the ministry. The Centre’s present move will erode the autonomy and dilute the powers of the authority, and reduce it to a “puppet” of the Centre says the opposition. But the Government argues that the CWMA, a body corporate, has been working all along under the Water Resources Ministry. Its predecessor too, the Cauvery River Authority (1998-2013), was under the Water Resources Ministry. What’s the harm they argue when there are eight other inter-State river water boards under the Jal Shakti Ministry. It will help address administrative issues they say.
But the jury on this is still out.
